I was wondering what sort of insider "tricks of the trade" some of you might have.

Particularly right now, I'm working on two (my first two ) projects, and would rather not buy a second Uno, but was curious as to what methods you might be using to quickly connect and disconnect a semi-permanent breadboard mess of experimental components to an Arduino.

I was thinking of just having multiple small (or large) breadboards that bring all their pin and power leads to a single pin-header, then I can simply connect and disconnect a board without too much stress.

What sort of connectors? I'm not thinking Mega here with dozens of pins, there will probably only be in the order of 8-16 pins to deal with.

What are the black connectors called like used on the Arduino board, and the bottom of Shields? I think they might be cool if I can fix the wires into them.

I was thinking of just having multiple small (or large) breadboards that bring all their pin and power leads to a single pin-header, then I can simply connect and disconnect a board without too much stress.

Would this work? http://liudr.wordpress.com/gadget/phi-connect/

... it is poor civic hygiene to install technologies that could somedayfacilitate a police state. -- Bruce Schneier

My vote also goes to the boarduino from Adafruit. You can also build your own so you can tailor it to all your needs. About a year ago I did something like this(attached) with all the pins coming off on one side in a single line. Easy to use and consumes very little breadboard space. I have since modified its power supply and a smaller board.

Did you make it easy to connect something like an FTDI Basic for easy downloading? Or does one just connect to the appropriate pins once plugged in the breadboard using flying leads off the USB/RS232 adapter?

Did you make it easy to connect something like an FTDI Basic for easy downloading? Or does one just connect to the appropriate pins once plugged in the breadboard using flying leads off the USB/RS232 adapter?

I have always used the ICSP for my projects but I guess if needed a 6 pin header can be placed on the board(or as you suggested using the breadboard). I actually gave it a name when I designed it. SAduino, short for Side Action Arduino. :-)

I'll look for the redesigned board files for those whore are interested, but the design is basic and straight forward.